ISAIAH 55:9 - "STEADFASTER"

"Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: For God did send me before you to preserve Life." (Genesis 45:5) Now then: the real lesson that we can see by the steadfast life of Joseph, was that God's ways are much higher than man's ways; for Joseph's journey from slave to ruler was really for a more glorious plan; a plan that involved and had been established for the protection, preservation and in keeping a promise that God had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a promise that He would make them a nation, and that through them the world would be blessed. The dreams that Joseph had as a child could not compare with the thoughts that God had, and the end result that God has predestined. Joseph saw his brothers and father bowing down to him, which God did bring to pass; however, that in of itself was only a split second in time compared to the greater picture of what that dream would come to represent. In other words, the picture that Joseph had, did not compare to the plan that God had in mind. So it is when we see a work that God is doing in us or around us; we only see a very small piece of a very complex puzzle. To see just a tiny point to what I am saying, look at the story of the woman at the well in John chapter 4. Jesus ministered to this one woman, which in turned caused her to run home and call many to come and see Him. This is an example of how God works! We really do not know who we are to be ministering to, but only that we are to be steadfast and do it; but God, He knows!!! It could be a child in Sunday School; just a small child that we might teach about Jesus, who then grows up to be a mighty man or woman for God; or that turns to a friend and shares what they have been shown, and then that person grows up to be, or to share, or to lead; and on and on. We must just be steadfast in doing what God tells us to do; because the bottom line is that God is steadfaster! His ways are way higher than our ways; we can not even imagine what He is doing, or going to do in any situation. Maybe you have an opportunity to deliver a message, say at a church or some other venue; and for what ever reason, only a few people show up. You have prepared a message that you have meant to share to a large gathering, and here you are before this small group. Does that mean that you do not share the message God has prepared in you because the crowd is small? No Way! We have no way of knowing who it is that God wants to speak to; God prepared a message in us to be delivered to someone, and they could be in a large crowd or a small group; we just need to be steadfast to deliver the message; God will do the rest, because He is steadfaster. Because, really, by one man, who was Joseph, was all the children of Israel preserved! And then notice how God performed this task; talk about steadfast! He is steadfaster because: He gave a boy some dreams, which caused his brothers to hate him, which made way for them to want to get rid of him. Then He brought by some slave traders in a moment of his brothers rage, which then took the young man to Egypt, and sold the lad to Potiphar. Who happened to work for the Pharaoh, and also had a promiscuous wife; but also had connections with the King's prison. Then He gave dreams to Pharaoh's baker and butler, who happened to be in the prison which was now being ran by His servant, who could interpret those dreams; then those dreams came to pass. Then He gives two very strange dreams to Pharaoh, which made Pharaoh need to have them interpreted; and it just so happened that His servant could, and was available to do so. Then the dream was interpreted, which was about a famine, that God had prearranged; to bring about a plan, which He still has not completed to this day! You see, Joseph just had to be steadfast in being God's servant; because God is being steadfast in the rest, for He is Steadfaster! His ultimate plan: to preserve a people, which He could then deliver, which He then establish, which He could then redeem unto Himself, which He could then Glorify in Heaven! "And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout the land of Egypt." (Genesis 45:7 & 8)

ISAIAH 55:9 - "Steadfastness"

"And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." (Genesis 50:19 & 20) This Joseph said to his brothers after their father had died; because after Jacob's death, they feared that Joseph would repay them for what they did to him years before. Joseph's life is a 'Type' of Jesus Christ; but it also is a very good example to us as to what it means to be steadfast in our walk before the Lord. Here we have a picture of a man, who early in his life, as a boy, had dreams. Not only did he have dreams, but he also knew what they meant; his dreams showed him being served and worshipped by his brothers, and even his father. In fact, after sharing one of these dreams, his father replied: "What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come and bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?" (Gen 37:10) Growing up for Joseph was not easy. He was always treated badly by his brothers, because of his dreams; they would make fun of his dreams, and call him "Dreamer". Put yourself in his shoes; because for most of us, if not all, he had many opportunities to be discouraged and to give up. But he stayed steadfast and continued to believe that God had a plan and a purpose for his life. His first big chance for discouragement came when he was sold into slavery by his brothers, and then to make matters worse, they made it look like he had been killed by wild animals. Now, for most, this alone would have been enough to cause great discouragement. You know that you have been called to be a leader among your people, and now you are swept off into a foreign land as a slave; and to make matters worse, the only ones that could even try and save you, think that you are dead. Did Joseph get discouraged? If he did, it was not enough to cause him to give up on serving the Lord. Joseph was a man that was full of integrity and believed God was going to use him; he may not have known how it would happen, but he believed God would bring it to pass. Because he believed this, his life was devoted to serving God. How did he serve God? By being a man that walked out Godliness; being honest and serving those he worked for, as unto the Lord. Which was really not something he learned from his father Jacob, who had been a 'Deceiver' all of his life. No, you see, Joseph had assumed the role of his father's new name: 'Israel', which means 'Governed By God'; and he was steadfast in living it out. Next we see him serving in the house of Potiphar, who was an officer of Pharaoh. Joseph served him with such integrity and honesty, that Potiphar placed him in charge of all he had, with the exception of one thing: his wife; she was the one they based a TV show after, called "Desperate Housewives", (which I have never seen, I can only imagine). He ends up being accused by her of trying to force himself upon her; but I believe that he did not try to defend himself, and kept silent of the matter. As for Potiphar, Genesis 39:19 says: "And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled." I believe his wrath was not kindled against Joseph, but it was against his wife, and the situation that he had been placed in; because he was either going to have to show that he believed his wife, or Joseph; and Joseph was not saying anything. Besides, after this encounter, Joseph pretty much knew his days of serving there were done; he knew that this was something he should have brought to his masters attention long ago, but now he was paying a price for his silence, and would remain silent. So, Potiphar puts Joseph in the prison that Pharaoh uses to put his prisoners; which must have once again been a huge blow to his aspirations of being a leader among his people, and his service to God. But not Joseph, he stayed steadfast and served the Keeper of the prison, just as well as he served Potiphar; which would make me believe that Potiphar put a good word in for him to the Keeper of the prison. In Genesis 39:22 & 23, it says: "And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not at any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it prosper." Joseph just keep steadfast, serving the Lord, and believing that one day God was going to use him in a mighty way. Then there came the day when he gets to use his gift, the gift of interpreting dreams. Pharaoh's butler and baker show up in prison, and they both have dreams; Joseph interprets the dreams, they come to pass and then later, Pharaoh has some dreams. Joseph is beginning to see that there is a reason he is where he is, and why God has placed him where he has placed him. After he interprets Pharaoh's dreams, he instructs Pharaoh to appoint someone over all the land that is discreet and wise, and how he must store up food for the coming famine; someone that is lead by God and has integrity; I wonder who that might have been that he was talking about. In chapter 41 verses 38 & 39 it says: "And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shown thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:" Pharaoh puts Joseph in command of all of Egypt, and in fact, he was subject to only one in all the land, and that was Pharaoh, but even Pharaoh would heed his words. Joseph had been steadfast in serving and being 'Governed By God'; and now at the age of 30, he is second in command of all of Egypt. The only time in his life that he had used any form of deceit, was when his brothers showed up for food, he made himself a stranger to them. In Genesis 42:9 it says: "And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come." Now it all made sense! He had remained faithful and steadfast, and he has finally seen the dreams of his youth become reality. God had used his life for more than he could have ever dreamed of... "And his brethern also went and fell down before his face, and they said, Behold, we be thy servants." (Genesis 50:18)

ISAIAH 55:9 - "Back To The Basics"

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." You must know, and accept, that God does not want us to know everything there is to know about Him, His ways, His thoughts, His plan; basically, His anything. We should not even try to figure these things out, (trust me on this one); Why? Because we can not...And in trying to do so, we will just get frustrated and feel less important in the whole scheme of things; which can lead to us wanting to give up all together. We can not figure out the things of God, and just when we think we have, guess what, He shows us something else! However, what we must do is focus on the things He shows us about ourselves, and our relationship with Him; these are the things that we can figure out; and these are the things He will instruct us in. After all, what He really wants from us is a relationship; He does not want us to try and figure out all the things there are to know about Him; just to receive the things that He reveals to us, and then trust Him on all the rest; that is where He wants us to be; satisfied and humble. Besides, we can not even begin to change the things of God, so why be so concerned about them; instead we must focus on the things that we can change, or let Him change, and that is us; those are the things we must be concerned with. I remember hearing a very powerful message once, it went something like this: "If you want to change the world, you must first change the man, and that means you!" If we take a look at 2 Kings chapter 5, we can see a little bit of what I am talking about. Here we see the story of Naaman, who was a captain of the hosts of the King of Syria. In verse one, it says that he was and great and honorable man; he was a mighty man of valour, but he was a leper. He ends up being sent to the King of Israel by the King of Syria, with a letter from the King of Syria, addressed to the King of Israel, asking for the King of Israel to recover this very important man of his leprosy. Well, this did not go over to well with the King of Israel; in fact, he was very upset; he rent his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? Wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me." Basically, the King of Israel thought the King of Syria was trying to start a fight with him by asking him to do something that he could not do. So, in verse 8 it says: "And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the King of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel". Now, Naaman and his company show up at Elisha's house, expecting to be received with at least some kind of acknowledgement of how important he was, and how powerful of a figure he was in Syria; after all, that is why the King of Syria wrote the letter to the King of Israel, because he knew already that the prophet in Samaria was the one he needed to see, but thought by putting pressure on the King of Israel, that would make this matter of more importance. Verses 9 & 10; "So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean." You really have to understand the position of Elisha; he did not serve the King of Israel, he served God; but when he heard that the King of Israel had rent his clothes, he was concerned, and then after he had found out why he rent his clothes, he was no longer concerned, because he knew that God would be glorified in this. Then when Naaman shows up, Elisha did not what to receive any of the glory, but instead wanted God to be glorified; so he stays inside and sends out his servant Gehazi, with a message. But as we see from Naaman's reaction to this jester, he was not pleased; verse 11 & 12: "But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, he will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I go wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away." You see, Naaman, because he was such an important man, imagined showing up, and then this prophet stepping out, standing before him as if to perform a great and mighty wonder, by calling out to the Lord his God, and to intercede for this mighty man from Syria. But that's not what happened; no fanfare, no red carpet, no declaration before God, there wasn't even a prophet; in other words, Naaman felt like he received no respect. All he got was a stupid messenger, with a stupid message: "Go wash in the Jordan seven times". But really, isn't that how it is for us? we think God is going to do this grandiose thing in our lives, or even through our lives. We get everything all set up in such a way that we know He has to use us this way or that way, and then God says: "Go dip in the Jordan!" What Lord? Why? I mean really, couldn't we have done this better without having to have gone through all of this? Why did I even have to come all this way, to just be told to go wash myself? I could have got a better bath at home!!! We get all expectant within are minds, to see something spectacular, something extraordinary; and then God says pray, go share with that person, go feed that person some bread, do this, or do that; these things which to us seem as so simple, so basic, that we really don't see the point sometimes. Why? Because we don't have our focus on the real purpose of why! God wants to do a work in you! What was standing in the way of Naaman getting healed? Pride! His pride was stopping him from receiving what it was that God would do; and until he swallowed that pride and went down into that river seven times, he did not realise what it was God wanted to show him. Verse 14 & 15: "Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel!"

ISAIAH 55:8 - "Anti-Christ"

"Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah." (Jude 11) Do you believe that there is an Anti-Christ? I know that during the Tribulation, the Antichrist will be revealed; but I am talking about a spirit that is here, now, and is currently upon this earth, and is set against Christ Jesus. Maybe you don't think there is, and that it is just about a bunch of misguided people; people that have been deceived, and really can not see the truth; well, I beg to differ, because I have experienced this spirit, and know that there is more to some of the movements that are among us, than just deceived people. I think the reason that there are so many that get deceived, is because in a lot of cases, Jesus is presented, however the power of the Gospel is not. You see, when I said go back to the Beginning, what I meant is that we must remember and realize that the Life changing power of Jesus Christ and what He accomplished on the cross, was not just some ransom sacrifice; but His death on the cross gave us Life. In other words; there was nothing left for us to do, other than to believe on Him! When we accepted Jesus Christ into our hearts, in that very second, we were born again; we were changed from being separated from God, to being joined together with God! That is the power of the Gospel!!! Now, there are those that would deny that power, and these I believe are being lead by a spirit that is going to be revealed during the Tribulation. I have had disagreements with brothers and sisters before about this, so if you disagree, it's okay; but this is just what I believe, and there is scripture to back it up. You can call it what you want to, a force, the devil, whatever; but all that I know is that it is prevalent and present. Let me give you a small example of what I mean. When I got saved I was in jail; and several of us would always set around and have Bible Studies; we would just gather together to read the Word, and then share what God was speaking to us. One day, this kid came and sat with us; as he saw that we were talking about God and the things of God, he said: "When I get out, I am going to go to my brother's church; but they don't actually call it a church, I think they call it a hall." When I heard him say this, I was immediately brought to attention, and then spent several hours showing him as many things as I could about who Jesus was and about what the Bible said He was, is and always will be. Well that Sunday he accepted Jesus Christ into his heart, and received a visit that very same day from his brother and several other family members; all of them were JW's. The visiting room has a row of chairs that are in front of a booth. The booth has thick glass separating you from another booth on the other side, and to speak with your visitors, you must use a phone; they have a phone, and you have a phone. When he arrived at his booth, they were all there on the other side, waiting to greet him. He was very excited about his New Life, and as soon as he picked up the phone he said: "Guess What! I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart today!" His visit was over; just like that, they hung up the phone and walked out, unanimously; just like that! and didn't even say Goodbye. When he ran back to the dorm and told me what had just happened, I was not surprised; you see, I had been raised in that False Religion, (that is a cult, for those of you in Shasta Lake). I could remember the nightmares I would have as a child; dreaming about being swallowed up by the earth, and big rocks and fire falling from the sky and landing on me, much like what happened to Korah and all those that stood with him, in Numbers chapter 16. Because the way they present things, if you are not part of that organisation, that is your fate; and even if you are part of it, you are still going to be judged, and you may not be found worthy. Did you know, that the ratio of mental disorders are higher in that sect of people, than in any other? Why do you think that is? I think it is pretty obvious; after all, this is a cult that teaches you have to go through judgement to be found worthy to have everlasting life. And as if that was not bad enough, you are going to be here, on this earth; so that would mean, if you are alive during the Tribulation, guess what, yep you got it; locusts, hail of fire, pestilence, agony, God's wrath, etc...Oh, they will proclaim Jesus, but the Jesus they share, is not the same Jesus I know; they talk about Jesus being Michael the Ark Angel; and that Jesus was God's ransom sacrifice, which was a son that God gave to die for us, oh and by the way, we are all His sons. No, the Jesus I know is God! He was made flesh, dwelt among us, and the went to the cross, to not only die for my sins, but to give me Life!!! Eternal Life Right Now!!!(That means I don't have to wait for it!) "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be Glory and Majesty, Dominion and Power, both now and ever. Amen" (Jude 25)

ISAIAH 55:8 - "AMAZED"

"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that you should not obey the Truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?" (Galatians 3:1) Now, let's touch a little on the Spiritual side of this One, 'Way'. There are three venues that the Holy Spirit will use for expression: He will express Jesus within us, as He shows Him to us through the Word and through prayer; He will express Jesus through us, as we share Jesus with the world in and through our daily lives; And He will express Jesus in the church, as we come together in the body of Christ, to corporately fellowship and worship. All of these expressions have One thing in common: 'Jesus!'... So, if there is any expression by a spirit that is not giving glory to Jesus, then it is most likely not the Holy Spirit. This is the main danger in getting caught up in a movement that is directed toward the moving of the Spirit; which unfortunately, many people and churches do. Why would this be dangerous? Isn't the Holy Spirit God, and are we not to be following the Spirit? First off, we must realize that the Holy Spirit moves. He moves in us, through us, and around us. He also dwells within us, and has been in us since the day the we received Christ into our hearts. But, and I mean butt, (for those in Shasta Lake, the means what you sit on), we need to be seated in Christ. In other words, although the Holy Spirit is moving all around us, we are not to be following Him; He is doing a work in us, through us, and around us. We can not take a chance to get caught up in some movement that is sweeping through the church; unless of course that movement is giving glory to Jesus. Instead, we must stay grounded in His Word, because His Word does not move; His Word is the 'Rock' on which we must not move off of, no matter how spectacular the spiritual movement may appear. If whatever is sweeping through the church does not give Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, pay it no mind, (that means do not even let your mind spend time thinking about it); or else you may get bitten. You might be saying to yourself, 'Hey, this sounds like some kind of a Jesus only doctrine!'; No! This is a 'Jesus only is the Way' doctrine! Remember in John 4, as Jesus was speaking to the woman at the well about Truth; in verse 23 & 24 He says the following: "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." Okay then, which spirit was Jesus talking about? Because, if you remember what I shared earlier, we are spirit also; our eternal soul, is, in and of itself a spiritual being. So then, if we are to be worshipping the Father in spirit, how are we to be worshipping the Father? I really do not mean to make this that complex; because really, it is not that difficult to see. I remember when I first got saved; in fact I think it was just a few weeks after. I made a crossword puzzle for me and those that I wanted to share with to do. All the empty squares spelt Jesus, and all the questions to fill in the other squares, were things from the Old and New Testaments that pointed to Jesus. I was quite proud of this word puzzle, and it took me several days to do; but the reason I felt called to do it, was that for most of my life I was shown another Jesus. The Jesus that I knew before, was not God, but rather a man that had been created a little more in line with angels; and in fact, I was taught that at one time He was an angel. But, after I saw who Jesus really was, is, and always has been, I had to declare it to not only the world, but myself; over and over and over. Why? Because the world will tell you different! In almost every way that it can, the world will minimise the power and the glory of the Gospel message. You must hold this thought so deep in your heart, that nothing can pull it out: Jesus is God!!! There are so many forces around us that want to destroy this fact; but in the end, "Every Knee Shall Bow"! I hope I did not get to carried away today; but this is very critical to what I believe is so wrong with the churches today. Many churches and believers have slipped away from following Jesus, and are instead caught up in something else; something that is not giving glory to the One and Only True and Living God. We need to get back to the Beginning! "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I please men, I should not be the servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:8-10)

ISAIAH 55:8 - "Bewilderment"

"Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." (Acts 8:22 & 23) Now, let's take a look at the spiritual aspect of the matter, thoughts. In the opening verse from Acts chapter 8, Simon Peter is rebuking Simon the sorcerer about his purpose and motivation in wanting the gift of laying on of hands for people to receive the Holy Spirit. In verses 9-11, we see what Simon was all about: "But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that a long time he had bewitched them with sorceries." What had happened, was that Philip came into the area, and he began preaching Christ, and performed all sorts of miracles; and verse 8 says, "There was great joy in that city". Basically what was happening here was a full blown revival throughout the whole city; verse 12 says: "But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women." For a long time they had been following, heeding to and been tricked into believing that Simon was some great power of God; but now they had received the Truth, and had seen the Light. Then in verse 13, we see Simon believe also: "Then Simon himself believed also: And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs that were done." This word wondered is the same word as bewitched; which basically means that Simon was amazed; 'He Was Beside Himself'. In other words, he was saying within himself, "How does he do this and that?" As he watched Philip performing miracles and God working signs and wonders through him, he was not able to figure out this work that was being done, right in front of him. "Now when the apostles which were in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost." (verse 14 & 15) Then in verses 17-21 we can see the leading up to the opening verses: "Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God." You see, before Philip came to town, Simon was the man; and he had fooled all the people with his trickery to make them subject to his leading. Then as we saw; as Philip was doing all sorts of miracles and such in the name of Jesus, Simon was astounded and bewildered; but now he had seen something he thought he could put his hands on, and it involved the laying on of hands. For him, it would be a way to get the people to start following him again; to be able to have people come to him for the Holy Spirit to be given unto them; he was obsessed with being in control over the people; with being the man. Hosea 12:7 says it nicely: "He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hands: he loveth to oppress." What I am trying to say with this, is that we need to take heed of what are the intentions, purpose or plans of our heart; in other words, whom are we really wanting to serve. Do we really want to serve God, or are we really just wanting to serve ourselves, and have others bewildered by us; to look at us as if we are some great power of God. This was the sin of Simon, or the wickedness of his heart: that he would make light of the Holy Ghost and the power of God. Remember Job's reply to God in verse 40:4, "Behold I am vile"; one of the definitions for this word: 'To Make Light Of'; for as much of a righteous man that Job was, this was the sin that God revealed in him. Job saw that even though he had practiced everything he could to be righteous, he was still found lacking by the fact that he had made light the holiness, the majesty, and the power of God. God must never be made light of; we must never take the Holy Spirit lightly; and we must never, ever take the Word of God lightly. "Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me." (Acts 8:24)

ISAIAH 55:8 - "Beginnings"

"In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. And the Light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended It not." (John 1:1-5) Sometimes what we must do in order to get our thoughts right and in line with God's thoughts, is to go back to the beginning. For me, that was September 1981; the exact date, I do not remember, but I think it was around the 17th. This was the day that I accepted Christ into my heart, and the day that I was transformed from the darkness and into the Light. There was a simpleness to what happen that day; it was not something that needed to be analysed or picked apart; instead, it was what it was, because it was. There is something that God does when He makes us alive in Him; it is called Life! As we look back a few verses in Isaiah 55 to verse 3, there is a little word that speaks large, it is the word 'live': "Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live". Now then, we must understand what it is that gives us this Life, and remember that it is the way God has ordained it to be; So what is it? It is His Word! That's right, God's Word gives us Life. It really does not have to be so complex, and it really wasn't back in September of 1981 for me; but then after years of wondering, sometimes with my head where it did not belong, I made it into something that it really was not meant to be. Jesus is the Word, and if you want to know who Jesus is, read the Word; if you want to know God, read the Word; because the Word is God. Man always wants to have something to look to, that can satisfy his visual appetite; God has given us plenty to look at, and to gaze upon, within His handiwork; but man still wants to look at God. It really has been an issue with man from the beginning of the fall; but if you look at the picture painted in Revelation 21 & 22, God will make sure that this is no longer the issue. However, it is God's Word that He wants us to get to know as Him, for now; because His Word is sure, it does not change, and in it is Life. Another thing that is needed to be realized about His Word: Within His Word are the fullness of His Thoughts and His Ways. The word for our thoughts and our ways, is the same word for His thoughts and His ways; in other words, the meaning of these words are the same for both God and man. So, the definition of the words are not what matters, but how they are received, that is what really matters. Did I just make something simple complex? I hope not; because really it is quite simple! God is His Word; His Word is God. Do you want to see God? Read His Word! Do you want to know what God looks like? Read His Word! Do you want to know Life Eternal? Read His Word! Do you want to see the Light of men? Read His Word! Okay, maybe I did not make it clear enough? Within the meaning of both the word thoughts and the word way, which I gave yesterday, there are somethings that are in common; for example, in the list of meanings for the word 'Way', there were words like path, road, course and worship; then for the word 'Thoughts', there were words like purpose, plan, means and invention. Those first three words that I have listed for each definition are words which point to a specific direction; they are words which imply there is a need for guidance. We need guidance in our life, yes? Okay, that highlighted word 'worship' for way, is actually a word that can mean thought; and that highlighted word 'invention' for thought, is actually a word that can mean way. Really? How is that? God wanted to show us the way to Himself through His Word, so He invented the Word to express His thoughts and to show us the Way. Okay, maybe I made it complex again? But it really is simple! "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth." (John 1:14)

ISAIAH 55:8 - 'FOR'

"Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it. Then Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer Thee? I will put my hand upon my mouth." (Job 40:1-4) The word 'For' in the beginning of verse 8, in Isaiah 55, is a word that is used in conjunction; in conjunction with what? It could be used in conjunction with the proceeding declaration from God; which is obvious that it is. But it also could be used in conjunction with the previous verse or verses which were laid out by Isaiah. In the opening verse, which is from Job chapter 40, God asked Job this question: "Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him? The word contendeth is 'Riv' or Ruv'; which means to toss, to grapple, wrangle, strive; to contend, quarrel, hold a controversy, plead, conduct a legal case, make a charge, defend, be an adversary, to complain, to debate, plead a cause, etc... Basically almost anything that is set against a rule or way. God puts forth this question about the state in which Job was in, and then He asked within the question whether Job should "instruct Him". This word 'instruct' is the word 'Yissor'; which means: a reprover, a blamer, one who rebukes. This word only appears once in the Bible, and it is here in Job 40:2. So what is my point in this? (That is a rhetorical question.) If the word 'For' is to be considered a conjunction of the previous verse, or even all seven verses for that matter, then what God is stating is that His thoughts and His ways are not our thoughts and our ways in the connection with returning to Him. Which could actually imply, that what we think we are to be turning from, may not be what He means for us to turn from at all; but instead could mean that He also wants us to consider our motivation or our intentions. You see, sometimes we are looking through the wrong set of standards, or in the wrong direction. The bottom line to what I am saying, is that thoughts and ways are two entirely different things. We might be on the right path, but our thoughts are wrong; or we our thoughts my be right, but the path that we are on is entirely wrong. This would be the reason that God asked Job what He did; something like this: "Will you who plead your case before Me, also blame Me for your situation or where you are at?" Because when we look at Job's response to God, we see humility: "I am vile"; this word 'vile' is the word 'Qalal', which means: to be despised, to be lessened, to be cursed; but it also means: to bring a curse upon oneself; but as if that were not enough, it also means: to make light of, to be trifling, to subside. Now, let's consider for a moment, just the preceding verse 7, and look at it like this now: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts:". This time, consider that these are two totally different things: one is the path or way that we have chosen to be on; the other is the thought or reason. Maybe what we should do is look at these words a little closer? 'Way': the word is 'Derekh'; which means: a going, walk, journey, way, path, road; mode, manner, course, way of life, lot in life, and worship. More often it means the action or behaviour of men, whether wicked or righteous. 'Thoughts': the word is 'Machashavah', which means: thought, imaginations, intentions, purpose, plan, means, device; curious works, artificial work, invention, skillful work, and fortification. Both of these words are nouns; if you remember from elementary school, a noun is a person, place or thing; unlike a verb, which is an action word. So, because these are nouns, that would mean that they are established, or already set in place; because if they were verbs, they would be moving, or in motion. For example: thinking is a verb, while thought is a noun; okay, enough with English 101! Here is the bottom line again: When we are considering a response to God, we must not just look at the place in which we have ended up, but we must also consider the reason that we got there. If we do not do this, then we will most likely get there again and again. "Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice: but I will proceed no further." (Job 40:5)

ISAIAH 55:8 - "Lost In Translation"

"And it shall come to pass in the Last Days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:" (Acts 2:17) There is something to be said for being able to communicate. It really makes the world seem smaller when more and more of it's inhabitants can speak to one another. In the book of Genesis 11:1-9, we see the story of the Tower of Babel. Here we see the inhabitants of the earth, after the flood, traveling from the east and dwelling in a plain in the land of Shinar. In verse 4 we see them make a proclamation: "And they said, Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach to the heaven; and let us make a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." This time period was about 100 years after the flood, and already the people had started to get sideways; they entered into a day which they were full of pride, and wanted to make a name for themselves; this was corporate pride. As they began to erect this tower, they believed that they could reach the heights of heaven; to reach up to the height of God; as if they could get high enough to be able to be at His level. In verses 5-7, we see God's response to this endeavor: "And the Lord came down to see the city, and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let Us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." Well, as the story goes; God confused their language so that they could no longer communicate with one another, and they split off into separate directions, leaving off from building their tower. Now it seems that we are coming full circle again; as the world comes closer and closer together, there are new discoveries and quests being made every day. Man is again wanting to make a name for himself; to even think that he can create life, or alter the earth's climate and atmosphere. Thinking once again that they can reach the heights of heaven, and that they can somehow come to a point to where God is; yet get this; all the while they deny that God exist at all. You have to believe that we are definitely living in the Last Days! There is something profound that you may or may not have noticed about this chapter 55 in Isaiah; up to this point, the first seven verses were Isaiah declaring a 'Wo', or "Listen Up"; now from verse 8 to the end, it is God's turn to speak; and when God speaks, we must listen! The problem with listening to God speak, is that He does not speak our language; or better put, we don't know how to listen to His language. So in order to be able to listen to Him speak to us, we must employ the services of an interpreter; and that interpreter is the Holy Spirit. As we move forward in this text, there are a few things that we must understand and remember, and they are spelled out by God in His opening statement: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord". I do not want to even begin to assume that I know more than I ought to know; but this much I do know; God has given me a gift, and that gift is the ability to articulate a thought. This is something that I have had from as far back as I can remember. In grade school, I remember being sent to a psychiatrist so that they could determine why I needed to analyze everything and why I was such a dreamer. As I ponder that and this gift that I believe God has given me, I can only wonder if there was a reason that this chapter in His word became so pressing upon my heart. Was God showing me something that I needed to share, or was it meant for me? I am beginning to think more and more, that it was for such a time as this! I really, really believe that we are living in, and seeing the unfolding of the Last Days!!! I remember a quote that I read from Albert Einstein, where he was asked about his 'Theory of Relativity' and his knowledge of it. In his own opinion of what he had done, he really did not think that he had thought of anything new; but he believed that all he was able to do, was to express it in the form of an equation. In other words, what he thought of, had been thought of before, he just was able to articulate it on paper. This is much the way I feel; I am really not thinking of anything new, that others have not seen before, I just have a gift of being able to articulate it; to paint a picture of words. Although, sometimes abstract, they are pictured, non the less. The real problem that I have, is that many of the things I see, can not be expressed quick enough to paint a perfect picture that is clear enough for all to understand; thus there sometimes requires an interpreter. Much like Einstein's theory of relativity, which he put forth in an equation; you must know to interpret that equation, to really understand how it works. The thoughts of God must be interpreted by God; that is where the Holy Spirit gets to open the eyes of our hearts, so the we may see and receive what He is saying. "And on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved." (Acts 2:18-21)

ISAIAH 55:8 - "Reaching Higher"

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord." (Isaiah 55:8) (I think I might be half way done; but that is up to God.) Can you see yet what I am talking about? The word Prodigal means 'wasteful'; so what did that son waste? Do you think it was money or earthly wealth? No!!! He wasted his Spiritual inheritance on earthly things! What that means is that he took the things of the Spirit, and then went out into the world; but not for ministry, but instead to live as he chose to live; all the while, spending that which was meant to be used for ministry, to instead satisfy himself. He used those things which God had gifted him with and the Spirit that God had put into his life, for this world, which will all be burnt up; instead of being focused on serving in His Father's house, he focused on the world. Do you see, or not see what I am saying? Okay then, let me try and break it up. The Holy Spirit which was promised and that we did receive, is to be used for the ministry; He is our power to portray Jesus to a fallen world. No matter what capacity you are serving in, even if that is washing toilets, unless you live alone on a island, your life in Christ matters for the Kingdom of God. There are people dieing and going to hell, and they are in your life; maybe even in your home; and what they need to see is Jesus; they need Hope! Not the hope the world gives, but the Hope that is in Heaven; they need to be able to read that Hope from your life, because chances are they won't be reading it from the Bible. This could not be any plainer to see; but it is hard to see! What the heck does that mean??? Well, in order to see what it is that I am talking about, you must be yielded to the Holy Spirit, and then God's Spirit will reveal it to you; you will not be able to see what I am saying by viewing it through the flesh; it will only be apparent from the Spirit. When Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth", He was not speaking in general; He was stating a fact, (for you in Shasta Lake, that means what He said was Really True). Now, I want to show you something that God has let me see. The higher you get in ministry, the more intense the battle becomes; Why is that? I believe the main reason is that the higher you get, the more isolated you become. It is really like that in all walks of life, especially if you are really serious about what it is that you do. Remember that canyon wall? Well God has given me another glimpse of this vision; this time the scene was different; this time it was a view of a servant, like a pastor; and he was there standing alone. He is standing there in this dark canyon, facing a wall of a cliff. This cliff is high, so high that you can not see the top; and it is wide, to wide to see from end to end. Within the wall of the cliff are clefts or caves, which may be used for hiding or shelter. Our servant is yielding a Sword, and standing there in desperation, and in a battle stance, and facing the cliff, with his back to a valley of darkness behind him. In that darkness behind him, is a roar of a lion; a lion that is roaming up and down that canyon from the valley behind; wanting to find who it is that he will devour next. Have you ever been within 20 foot of a full grown lion? I was last week at the San Diego Zoo; they are big, really big; and I don't think I would want to fight one any time soon. Remember what that cliff wall represents, the path to destruction; it is far and wide. There are three things that must be on this servants mind: he must ward off that lion; he must find that crack of light; and he must surrender to that light. Then there are those caves or clefts in the wall; what are they? These are temporary hiding places; but the problem with these are that they do not work for his benefit; in fact they will actually hinder the chances of winning this battle. Although they may provide shelter from that roaring lion, they give a false sense of security; and they really make finding that crack impossible, because from that vantage point, you can only really look out into the darkness of the valley, which is where that lion is! O, What is a servant of God to do? I really already said what it was, but this time I will mean it!!! He must use the Word of God to ward off the enemy; while he yields to the Holy Spirit to show him the way towards that crack; and then once the light is visible, he must surrender his life and be transformed into the Light, in order to make it through that crack. But here is a little twist: In order to see clearly what he must surrender of his life, he must first be illuminated by that light of the crack, which then brings him out into the open and he becomes vulnerable, and you know what happens next; time is of the essence...ROAR! "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For our weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

ISAIAH 55:7 - "Abundantly Pardoned"

"He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him." (Psalms 103:10-13) Pardon; the word is 'Salach': To forgive; never is this word used on the human level, with regard to people forgiving one another; this is a special kind of forgiveness that only God can provide toward us. And then couple that with the word 'Abundantly', which means, more than we need; well, I think you get my point. But in case you did not: When we return to the Lord, He will forgive us, but not just enough to forgive us; He will forgive us more than we need to be forgiven. Just like that 'Prodigal Son' was forgiven and received back into the Father's house; having given the Best Robe placed upon him, and the Ring for his hand; what that implies, is that he was given Lordship; which is also what Jesus proclaimed He would do for those that overcome in the letter to the church of Thyatira. I use to think that "As far as the east is from the west" meant that you would always be going east, until you turned around and began to go west; but I have come to realize that this verse is far more meaningful; because it is actually a picture of a separation. In other words, our sin is separated from us, as far as the east is from the west; there is a difference! You see, this is not by a standard or a span that we assume, but it is by the standard that God insures; and do you know how far the east is from the west for Him; it is a long, long way! Now then, let's add to this the fact, that what we are talking about is the spiritual realm; and let me entertain this thought: that what the 'Prodigal Son' had done, was in fact waste his spiritual inheritance; What does that mean? The Holy Spirit that was given to us, in the very hour that we first believed, was given to us fully; and His purpose, was to Glorify Jesus in our lives. To cause in us, the attributes and the will of Jesus to come alive in our daily lives. Can you see yet what I am talking about? Maybe I can explain it another way? How about 'Old School'? When God created man, He created us in His image; What is the Image of God? Well, Jesus spoke to the woman at the well about this: "God is a Spirit" (John 4:24). So, if we are made in the image of God, What are we? Our eternal soul is that spirit of us; it is who we really are. Before the fall of man, God's Spirit and our spirit were one; they coexisted within this body which God formed from the dust of the earth. He formed a mud pie, breathed His Spirit into it, and then walla, we became an eternal soul; but this body is only a temporary vessel that we are dwelling within. Are you with me so far? Good! At the time of the fall, there was a separation which occurred; God's Spirit and our spirit were no longer one. Remember the illustration of the Rib being removed from Adam; that Rib was God's Spirit being removed from man's eternal soul; (you might have to go back and read 'The New Eve', to understand what I just said). God said to Adam, "In the day that you eat of that fruit, you shall surely die"; Did they surely die that day? Well, the devil said that they would not surely die that day; Didn't he? In fact, the story goes that Adam lived 930 years, and then he died; so the flesh is not what God was talking about. It most likely was what was on the devils mind; but that may be because he was not created in the image of God, and is jealous of the fact that we were; (I'm just saying). The death that God was speaking about, was a spiritual death; and it is this spiritual death that separated our eternal soul from the Spirit of the Living God. Okay, are you still good to go? Good! Now then; the very hour that we accepted Christ into our heart, it was in that moment, that we became alive to God once again. His Spirit was once again one with our eternal soul; just like that, we were made complete again; and also in that moment, our inheritance was made complete; which means, that we were made alive to God and inherited His Holy Spirit! You still with me? Maybe? Good enough! Because the Light that I am trying to shine on this 'Prodigal Son' is all about walking in the Spirit of God. Remember, there is God's way, and then there is our way. God's way is Glorious, and keeps us dwelling in His house; our way is the way of destruction, and will have us eating swine food; it will leave us wanting, to say the least. When we do it our way, we will end up needing to seek forgiveness, again and again. When we do it His way, we can be assured that the path is the right path; and we may stumble from time to time, but it will only be because we have turned our head to look back. The bottom line is this: In that moment, our dwelling place became Heaven; this place was no longer our home! So, when we then try and make this our home, we become 'Prodigal Sons'..."The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His Word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye His hosts; ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure. Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His dominion: Bless the Lord, O my soul." (Psalms 103:19-22)

ISAIAH 55:7 - "Returning To The Lord"

"I will arise and go to my Father, and will say unto Him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before Thee, And am no more worthy to be called Thy son: make me as one of Thy hired servants." (Luke 15:18 & 19) When we return to the Lord, we need not, nor should we make a new covenant with God; that would be like making a New Years resolution; and as soon as you have broken it, you have failed; which of coarse makes it easier to fail again, and again. God has already established His covenant with us, and guess what?, He does not fail; ever! Just like every letter to the churches in Revelation, Jesus declares a covenant with anyone who overcomes; this is a promise from God to us. We can not make promises to God, Why? Because we are fallible, (for you in Shasta Lake, that means likely to fail); we are not promise keepers, as the story goes. Many may think that they can, and many have made many promises and kept some; but none of us can keep ourselves from falling. It is only God that can remain pure, because He is Holy; so what we must come to realize is that He is our Holiness, and there is really nothing that we can do to achieve Holiness. Instead, we must walk in the Spirit of God, day by day, depending upon Him for His Holiness to be bright enough to burn off all that is not of Him in our lives; this might be why God's Spirit is called the Holy Spirit; but in order to perform this function in our lives, we must be yielded and surrendered. If we look at this story given by Jesus, which is referred to as the 'Prodigal Son', that word prodigal means wasteful; wasteful of what? Maybe we should first understand from where the son had been; what was the Father's house in the first place? What was the inheritance that the son wasted? This is not a parable, this is a lesson; there is a difference between the two, and with this lesson, I believe Jesus is giving instruction on what, and how the Holy Spirit should be valued in our lives. You may believe differently, that it is just a story of someone backsliding, or going wayward; that is also true, but remember, I am talking about, and have been talking all along about those who serve God. We are to be walking in obedience to what the Holy Spirit speaks into our lives, and when we do not, we are this Prodigal Son. How does that work, you may ask? Okay, the first thing that we must always remember is that we are not who we think we are; what we see is not who we are. You might have just blinked, but what I am talking about is in the spiritual realm. Our eternal soul is really what matters in the long run, so that is what we must be focused on; it will be living on and on for eternity; this body that we groom everyday, will only be around for a short while. So, as we now look at this prodigal son, which wasted his inheritance on worldly pleasures, what now do you see that he wasted? Remember what Jesus said to the woman at the well in John chapter 4, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth". There is another place other than the one in which we see, and it is real, and it is Holy; that place is already present, now...I mean right now! When Jesus said, "I go and prepare a place for you", do you think He meant that it would be ready by the time you get there, or that He has already made it for you? That was not a rhetorical question; it should require some thought. Heaven has already been established, and when we walk not in the fullness of God's Holy Spirit, then we are wasting our inheritance. But God; I love that; BUT GOD...I can do that all day...But God, is able and He is willing; actually, He is waiting for us to return to Him. To quit eating out of the swine feed and serving other masters, and to return to Him for some good food and comfort. He will place a ring upon our finger, put His best robe upon us and put shoes on our feet; because He delights in us to be home; where is Home? That was rhetorical... "But the Father said to His servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us make merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry." (Luke 15:22-24)

ISAIAH 55:7 - "Nothing New Under The Sun"

"Then said He unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chamber of his imagery? For they say, The Lord seeth us not; The Lord hath forsaken the earth." (Ezekiel 8:12) This verse is a portion of the vision that God had given Ezekiel; in chapter 8 God takes him in the Spirit throughout the land, and in the verse above he is shown within the Temple walls; he is actually viewing through the wall of the Temple. As he looks in, he is seeing servants of God; men who were called to be serving God, in the Temple of God, viewing all sorts of abominable things which were portrayed on the walls all around them. These servants of God actually were serving God while they were doing these things; verse 11 says: "with every man his censer in hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up." Actually standing, or sitting in the smoke of the incense being burnt for God, and committing abominations right before God!!! This word abominations , is a pretty heavy word. It is the word 'Toevah', which means: something that is morally disgusting. Besides things which belong to the worship of idols, it is also used in connection with homosexuality, pornography, and all other type of strange perversions. Okay, I know I have done some pretty stupid things, and have played the fool more than once or twice, but for the life of me, I can not imagine myself doing anything actually in the church, actually within the walls of the church building; it just seems so wrong to even think about it. There are two things that I have always held up to be anointed of God, and that should be protected and kept from harm: the place were God's people come together for fellowship, and the Pastor that God has anointed to serve them; these two things I believe need to be and are sanctified; at least in my mind they are. But, I mean come on, actually doing abominable things right in the Temple of God; however, if you really think about it, we have done just that! Remember, when you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, you are in fact a Temple of God; so really, what is the difference? If you notice what God has said that these servants say: "The Lord seeth us not; The Lord hath forsaken the earth". This is what I was trying to say, and that I believe the writer of Hebrews was saying in Hebrews 3:12, "An evil heart of unbelief"; because how can we believe God is what He is, and then say that He does not see what we do, or know what we are thinking. How can we proclaim from our hearts that God is love, and that He loves the world enough to die on the cross for it; and yet also believe that He has forsaken the world. I mean, try and reason this thing with me; How can a man or woman of God actually walk in faith, if the faith that they walk in can be turned off and on, as if it were a light switch; What kind of faith is that? Where is the power? Where is the King of Glory being portrayed in that life style? He is not! The bottom line is this: I firmly believe that this sinfulness is the fruit of something that stems from that simple little act of saying ' no' to the Holy Spirit. That's Right! Forget about what has become, and get back to what should be; and that is yielding to the Holy Spirit. When we finally get this right, things will be a whole lot more gloriful within the church. It is not the things we do that are the root of the problem, it is the things that we do not. Which is also the reason for the opening of this chapter in Isaiah, and what I believe God is saying there: "Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread? And your labour for that which satisfieth not?" Really! 'Let the dead bury their dead'; we need to be about the Father's business; and then in doing so, all that other stuff will be left where it belongs, in the fire. It really comes down to what we are to be focused upon: Should we focus on not committing sin and those things that cause us to stumble; or should we focus on the things of God, and those things that are to be glorified, which includes ourselves. Which of the two require more of our attention? Which one deserves more of our attention? If you say it is the sinfulness, you need to get your head out of the gutter, because Jesus dealt with that on the cross. No, it is the things that are done for Him that require our undivided attention, because those are the things that shall not be burnt up; those things that we do for ourselves, for our pleasure, and if we are not careful, even ourselves, will be burnt in the fire. All sinfulness and evil will be judged and burnt in the fire, so why waste any time at all on that stuff; "Why spend money on that which is not bread?"; why waste even a little of what little time you have on giving life to dead bones; just '1 John 1:9' that stuff, believe it, and then move on in the Power of the Holy Spirit. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:7) Father God; help us to move past trying to deal with those things that are behind us, and to press forward unto the things that are ahead. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.

ISAIAH 55:7 - "Unrighteous Thoughts"

"These things saith the Son of God, who hath His eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and thy last to be more than the first." (Revelation 2:18 & 19) This is the beginning of Christ's letter to the church of Thyatira, which many attribute to the Roman Catholic Church; however, there is something about this letter that we may want to pay close attention to. It is the part about Jezebel, and it says: "Jezebel which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols." In the early church, there was a sentence put forth by James as to what would be required by the Gentile believers: "wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood." This sentence was made because these Gentile believers were being grafted into the Jewish Tree by their belief in Jesus Christ, and as such, many in the church were wanting them to be circumcised and to keep the Law of Moses; but James, being filled with the Holy Spirit made this sentence, and everyone else agreed. This Jezebel spoken about here in Revelation by Jesus, could very well refer to a spiritual principality; one which causes many within the church to become seduced by what Jezebel represented. This letter to Thyatira has a lot in common with the final letter that I have not touched on yet, which is Pergamos; but there are very specific differences, many of which will be apparent later; but for now, we will only look at this one, (it is enough!). Remember this very, very important fact, 'Sin Starts in the Heart'; therefore, you do not have to physically commit the act of sin to have actually committed the sin; but simply our thought can be enough to take us to the point of committing a sin, (for those of you in Shasta Lake, that means if you think it, you have done it). Do you know where your mind has been? Okay then; What about what you have allowed into your mind? Touchy subject isn't it? There has been an epidemic that has swept the globe over the last ten years; it has caused many in the church to become slaves to it; including those in leadership, and I mean Pastors too! This epidemic is pornography! Do not take my word for it, go to this website: musicforthesoul.org and then look for the (facts & stats) under News, and you will see for yourself; this is really ugly stuff. Here are some examples of what you will find: 37% of pastors admit to an ongoing struggle with pornography; there are 68 million hits a day to porn sites; over 50% of evangelical pastors report that they viewed pornography last year; 53% of Promise Keeper attendees viewed porn within a week before the event; there has been a 1800% pornography growth over the last 5 years. As you can see, this is more than just a problem, this is an assault from the enemy upon the church; and that is exactly how it must be viewed. When we look at the description Jesus gives to Himself in the opening of this letter, that description is one of judgement: "who has His eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass"; do not kid yourselves, Jesus will be judging the church, and it shall not be pretty. In verses 22 & 23, Jesus makes a very strong decree about punishment, it should not be taken lightly: "Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts: And I will give unto every one of you according to your works." Not to rosy sounding, is it? When He says, "I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts', what He is saying is the He searches our inner thoughts and our deepest desires. So, let me ask you again: Do you know where your mind has been? "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Revelation 2:26-29)

ISAIAH 55:7 - "Learning How To Sin"

"Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord." (Obadiah 2-4) There is no glory in learning how to sin! No; Really; I mean it: 'There is no Glory being lived out in our lives when we are learning how to sin'. When we are learning how to get away with sin in our lives, and not being yielded fully to the power of God. Maybe I need to break it down a little for you to better understand? Learning: To learn; 'To be instructed in something new. A process of adaptability or orientation towards a new way or thing.' In other words: A process where we take those things that should not be a part of our life and then adapt them into our life in a way that creates as little negative effect as possible; or "Learning How To Sin". Herein is the problem with this little practice: When we do this in our walk in the Lord, we really are not walking with the Lord; we might think that we are; we may even be able to do things well enough to fool ourselves and others; but really, the Truth is that we are not in fellowship with God. Why is it that we are not in fellowship with Him? Because God is Holy and does not fellowship with evil, sin or darkness. I really don't think I can say it any clearer; but I do think I can say it more direct. When we adapt sin into our New Life In Christ, we are in a way, making the Gospel of non effect; we are taking the beautiful Gospel message of God's ultimate Salvation from sin, and then morphing it into something that best suits our needs. This is not going to stand, nor will God stand for it, and eventually He will take you out. It is really sad that so many of those that have been gifted by God and called into the ministry, have adapted sin and the ability to sin into their life as a Believer in Jesus Christ. Many that practice these things, believe that their little sin really isn't hurting anyone, and that it is something that is between them and God. Well, it is true that God does give us liberty, and that He does forgive us when we ask Him to; but what cost we pay for hearts of disobedience, that will be measured on judgement day. God has called us to a higher calling than to just serve ourselves as we serve Him; because when we do that, we really do not fully serve Him; and there is something that Jesus said regarding this: "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John 8:34-36) When we are living in sin, (which means that we sin willfully for those of you in Shasta Lake), then we are in danger of not being found worthy to live in the house; What House? His House; Why? Because sin does not dwell in His House, that's why!!! In the opening scripture is the story of God's judgement upon Edom; which were descendants of Esau; which was the son of Isaac and the twin brother of Jacob; which makes these heathen out to be descendants of Abraham; which means that they should have been blessed. They were puffed up with pride, and thinking that they were greater than they really were. They also believed that because they dwelt within the clefts of the rocks, that they were out of reach from being brought down. In fact, they were really proud of there mountain strongholds, which seemed to be invincible; but they would not stand against the Day of the Lord. So it is with those that have learned how to sin; as if they have learned a new language, and they can transverse from one dialect to another depending on how they are living in the moment. Just because you have at one time in your life received God's gift of salvation, does not mean that you can now live as you wish; you can not withstand the Day of the Lord. And then to be proud of it, as if you are really good at making it all work out; believing that what you are doing for the Lord will counter out what you do for your own pleasure; 'Dwelling in the clefts of The Rock'. "How are the things of Esau searched out! How are his hidden things sought up! (Obadiah 6)

ISAIAH 55:7 - "The Wicked And His Way"

"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." (Hebrews 3:12-14) What is an evil heart of unbelief? The word unbelief that is used in this scripture above is 'Apistia': which means faithlessness or uncertainty; the lack of acknowledgment or the nonacknowledgment of Christ; want of confidence in Christ's Power; in general, a want of trust in the God of promise. There is something very profound that happens when we teach ourselves to quench the Holy Spirit, and as we slide back into the things of the flesh; it is called unbelief, which really means uncertainty. There was a mighty life changing power that we experienced that day we first accepted Christ into our heart; it was undeniable that our lives had been transformed; we were certain that God was real, alive, and that His love for us was more than we could ever fathom. But, after we quenched His Holy Spirit from having His way in our lives, we became doubters. Okay, maybe you don't think so? But let me explain what it is that I am talking about. The scripture above says "an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the Living God"; basically what was done when we began to quench the Holy Spirit in our lives, we departed from the Living God. Remember, the Holy Spirit is God, He dwells in us, He is alive, and when He is in us, we are alive in Him. So then, if we place upon the Holy Spirit a governor to regulate how He works in our life, what we have done is to look upon Him as if He is not alive. Remember also, that the role of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus; He brings out in us the things of Christ; He causes us to be changed into the image of Jesus; He confirms with our heart that Christ Jesus has changed us and has made us new. The bottom line to what I am saying, is that by instructing the Holy Spirit what, where and how things are going to be done; what you have done is to take control; and when that happens, you have departed from the Living God. We must get back to having the Holy Spirit leading and guiding our lives, in almost everything?; NO! In everything! I know it sounds a little to simple, but it is; God is not going to ask you to do something that you can not do; and what He is asking for here is just a heart of obedience; which basically is just following what you are told to do, when you are told to do it. There are actually people I have known that love to be in prison because they don't have to think or plan anything for themselves; everyday they follow each and every order they are given and just glide along. Once they are released, they do not know how to function without being instructed in every single part of their day; so they end up getting themselves put back into prison, and go gladly. Hard to believe isn't it? However, this is really the kind of attitude we must have when it comes to surrendering to God. We are no longer to be the one that is in control; He must have full control of our lives, and He must have it all day and night. We can not shut off the control He has whenever we feel like it, as if He were a light switch that can be turned on and off. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman, and will not force Himself upon us, or even force us into doing anything; so there is only so much turning off and on that He can stand, and then He we simply back away and let you get so full of yourself that you are desperate for Him. In the opening passage there is a verse that really sums up what I am trying to say: "For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end". This is very critical for us to realize: That confidence we had in the Power of God in the beginning of our walk with Him must be held onto; and if you are like me, and have not held onto that undeniable, life changing, unstoppable power, then you must look for that crack in that canyon wall and be transformed... "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way!" Not my way, but Your way O' Lord!

ISAIAH 55:7 - "The Terrible Two's"

"Hear, O Heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me." (Isaiah 1:2) If you have ever had children, you might recall that age two is not called the 'Terrible Two's' for nothing. It seems that this is the first period of many in a child's life when they discover that they can yield power. They determine by accident at first, but then by every conceivable means possible, that what they do can effect a change in the world in which they live; and they like it. It is really part of our sinful nature to want to be the one in control. When we first received Christ into our hearts we were given a gift, that gift was the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's role living within us is to bring forth attributes of Jesus Christ in our daily lives; from the very moment that you were born again, this gift was placed in you. As we have seen in the last two days of postings, there are two very different actions which we can take when it comes to how our lives react to the Holy Spirit's presents upon our lives: we can learn to yield to the Holy Spirit, or we can teach ourselves to quench the Holy Spirit. To learn to yield to the Holy Spirit is what we should, and must be doing if we want to walk in God's Perfect Will. This yielding to the Spirit is much the same as if you were yielding the right away to another car on the road; you simply allow them to go first and give up moving forward until they have moved before you. This was very, very important to learn as we started our walk in the Lord; unfortunately, before we could fully learn this very important task, we discovered there was something else; we discovered that we could quench the Holy Spirit. Much the same way a small child, as they reach age two, discovers that they can yield power of their own; we discover that we can yield power of our own also. This is really the time when it would be good to have a moment when you reflect on what I just said; because this really is turning point stuff... (Okay? Reflecting Yet?) The gift of the Holy Spirit that we received in that moment we first believed, was and is 'Power From On High'; the Holy Spirit is God, and when He is dwelling in us we are in fact a Temple of God. As we yield to the Holy Spirit's leading in our lives, we are guided and instructed in the things of God; we see things differently; we feel love for people in a whole new way; we read and understand God's Word as if it were meant specifically for own lives; we experience power flowing through us, as we share Jesus with those around us. It is this yielding to the Spirit that keeps us walking in a newness; just like new born babes, we experience new things everyday we are in Him and He is in us. Then it happens, not really intentionally at first maybe, but it happens none the less; we discover that we can say no to what the Holy Spirit is instructing us to do. There was something that you know that you know God was telling you to do, and you did not do it; and guess what, you got away with it. That's right, you discovered that you could say no, and that you were still be able to walk in this new life that you have been given; then guess what happens: The Terrible Two's, that's what! You see that you could get away with it in one thing; maybe something innocent, like sharing the Word with a particular person: God said share, and then you said, I don't feel like it; you might have felt miserable afterwords, but not for long. Then you begin the slide; it was just a simple thing at first; but none the less it had grown into an all out revolt against the power of the Holy Spirit in your life; even to the point of committing the sins that you were saved from. Those sins that you know were not to be part of your new life, you have now grafted them back and tried to in one way or another hide them somewhere for when you want them. This really needs to be dealt with, and it needs to be dealt with soon; because Jesus is coming very soon, I can feel it, you can feel it, and the earth can feel it; Get Ready!!!

ISAIAH 55:7 - "Getting It Right"

"For because you did it not at the first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought Him not after the due order." (1 Chronicles 15:13) You may recall the story of when King David wanted to bring the Holy Chest to Jerusalem; he was very upset that God would slay one of the men moving the Ark, for just touching it to stabilize it; that was in David's mind at the time a Breach of God against Uzzah. However, when David's heart had changed, He no longer felt that it was a breach of God, but he knew that it was a breach of man towards God; and once he understood this, he set out getting it right. There is some very vital information that we must know, and even base our life upon, before we begin a life of serving God: God is Holy, and He has established a way for things to be done for a reason, because He is Holy! When they first tried to move the Ark, they did so as if it were a piece of furniture to be placed within a certain place; really not giving it the respect that it deserved. Maybe, one reason that this was so, is because of where the Ark had been; for the Philistines had possessed the Ark for a while, and then it pretty much sat in storage, until the day that David pitched a tent for it to be placed in. The reason I am even sharing this, is because that we must always remember how Holy God is, and that in serving Him, we must never assume that He is brought down to our level; He will not be moved! So as we begin any work of God, (no matter how minute), we must remember that His Holiness must be represented at all times; there must be a reverence for the things of God, including the work of His Spirit. There are many today that try and manipulate the workings of the Holy Spirit, as if they control what He does; but that is actually a Breach against God; Why? Because the Holy Spirit works to glorify Jesus, not man; and whenever man tries to be glorified by putting forth some display of the Holy Spirit, in essence what he is doing is the same as David did the first time he tried to move the Ark; they are treating God's Spirit as if it is some kind of a utensil that can just be pulled out of a drawer and used for whatever, whenever they think it should be; That is not how God's Spirit works, nor is it how His Spirit should even be viewed. The way the Holy Spirit works, is by us yielding to the Holiness of God! As we are yielding to Him, the Holy Spirit begins to empower us to become a vessel that He can move in and through; but if we are not yielded, we will be trying to display a work of God's Spirit in our own strength; which would really be foolish to even consider; however, many do. The easiest way to put this is: Whatever we do for God, or whenever we are serving Him, we must do so with a reverence for His Holiness. A good illustration of what I am saying would be Isaiah when he was chosen by God to be a messenger to His children. In Isaiah chapter 6:1-10, we see him first before God, and humbled by the presence of God, and God's holiness. In verse 5, he acknowledges: "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." It is this yielding to the presents of a Holy God that humbled Isaiah to see his need to be made clean, and because he had seen this need to be clean, he was actually in a right place before His God. That is the kind of attitude and position we must maintain as we are serving the Lord; it is a attitude of humility that declares in our hearts that we could never be worthy within ourselves to serve Him; and that it is because of His Holiness that we can even move out in service to Him. In verses 6 & 7 we see that one of the seraphims had taken a coal from the altar and touch it to Isaiah's lips; declaring: "Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." It is at that point that Isaiah hears the Lord declare, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And because of the purification that Isaiah received, he can now say with confidence, "Here am I; Send Me! Now, what was it that Isaiah was to declare to God's people? It was the same thing that Jesus declares to be the reason for parables: "And He said, Go and tell the people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed." (Is 6:9 & 10) It is the 'heart of the people fat' thing that I am talking about; because this is when we can begin to think that we are something more than we ought to think ourselves to be; which is of coarse foolishness.

ISAIAH 55:7 - "For Such A Time As This"

"Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." There is nothing, absolutely nothing that we can do to earn God's love, forgiveness or His favor. I need to establish that right off the bat; for it is a fact: It is Truth! Please try and remember that, and that it is what I believe; because as we go forward, you might get the impression that I am saying that we are justified by our works; but in reality it is really quite the opposite: It is works that are brought on by the fact that we are already justified. In 2 Corinthians 9:8, Paul declares a little simple Truth: "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." He says this little, (BIG), truth within a section of the Holy Scriptures, where he is speaking about giving of your resources to God; but this simple little/big truth can apply to anything which is done for God, including just cleaning toilets. In verse 7, he makes the following statement: "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." I think it is rather interesting that immediately after he completes sharing on this subject, he moves into spiritual warfare, and one of my favorite verses for taking control of our thoughts: "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ: And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Cor 10:5 & 6) You see, when Paul says, "His Grace is sufficient for me", he can make that claim because of the fact of the simple Truth in 9:8: God having provided to us the ultimate measure of His Grace, in that we are already glorified in Him, makes us become sufficient in all things; and because we are in need of nothing else to complete our position in Him, we can then work in the power of God's Grace. Okay, so you might be scratching your head; but it really just comes down to the fact that God is doing the work; we are just vessels that He uses to work through; and because He is working through us, we are made to be filled the more with His Grace; and as a result of this experience, we are very cheerful, (joy abounds). Still scratching? When Paul is speaking about every man give as he purposeth in his heart, he is trying to make a point; that when we feel lead to give, or do something for God, we must never feel that we have to do anything; or that we are now obligated, so now we must do it. The bottom line of what Paul is saying here is that we serve and give to God because in doing so God is able to demonstrate His Grace in us; that we will be able to experience fulfillment in God by doing His will; and because of that simple little fact, we do so with an expectant heart, because we know just how big our God is; Bigger than we can imagine! There are so many things that are based on what is in our hearts, on the thoughts which are manifested within our minds, and the things which we will allow ourselves to dwell upon; the Truth is, that what is inside us, is who we really are, so we must be very mindful of that which is inside us, and be really truthful with ourselves before God. Now, what does all this have to do with Isaiah 55:7? Well, as we shall see, and as I have said before, there is not only the act of committing a sin, but there is also the sin of commitment; in other words: It is a sin unto us not to do for God, especially those of us who feel called by God to do something, and then not to do it. Whether or not you believe that God will punish us for not doing something, He will allow us to be punished; in other words, we will punish ourselves, we will loose out on a rich blessing, we will be less useful in serving God; the list really could go on and on; but the one thing that really, really matters the most, is that not doing that little thing that God has called you to do, actually quenches God's Spirit in our life; and then once we quench the Spirit of God in one area, we are more likely to do the same in others; which can lead to some really Big Sin...Father, please help me to not hold back anything that you put upon my heart to share. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, and cause our Ears to be opened, and the Eyes of our hearts to be able to not only see your Truth, but to receive it. In the Name of Jesus; Amen.

ISAIAH 55:6 - "Desire To Be Purified"

"I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His Word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning." (Psalms 130:5 & 6) Before we move forward into the next verse in Isaiah 55, (which happens to be the one that wrecked me almost 20 years ago), we need to do a little recap of some of what has been revealed thus far. Remembering first these simple Truths: First and foremost; that there is a choice that we have set before us, (always), which is to chose God's Perfect Will or our will, (which is His permissive will). Knowing that His will is best for our life; for us to walk in obedience to the perfect plan that He has for our life in Him. That when we are walking outside of His will, we are in store for whatever the world will throw at us, because we have put our desires above God's desires. Secondly; that Jesus Christ is the Living Water which, if it is to be Living, must flow in and through us. We must allow Jesus to be revealed in our lives to experience the power of the Gospel, and to be able to experience victory over the things which cause us to doubt that power. Much like electricity does not generate any power unless it is moving; so is the Jesus revealed in us. Thirdly; that we are the Bride of Christ, and as His Bride, we are loved and cherished by Him with an unconditional love that nourishes and cleanses us in His Word; that we would be spotless before Him. That He is preparing a place for us to dwell with Him forever, and that not only will we be with Him, but we shall be One in Him; and because we are One in Him, we also will be glorified as He is glorified, because we shall be One. Fourthly; that because we are what we are in Him, therefore, we must walk accordingly, as one that is part of the Glorified Bride of Christ; because we actually are already glorified in Him now, because He is Glorified. Which makes us to know and realize that this is not where we will, or should be dwelling; this is not our home; our Home is where He is. There really is nothing of any value here for us anymore, and the only things that really matter are the things which are established in Him and for His Kingdom. Fifthly; That we must surrender to Him by actually living a life surrendered to His Perfect Will; making His will become our will; not the other way around: Because He will not be moved! To live a surrendered life, we must constantly be willing to hear and obey the Truth that God reveals in our hearts about Who He is, and what we are; taking every possible effort to check the status of our hearts, as to if we are truly surrendering all to Him, and if we are listening intently to what He is saying to us. And Sixthly; We are naturally stubborn when it comes to the following two things: We only hear what we choose to hear; and we always will want to hold onto something. Because these faults are part of our nature, they will be present with us as long as we are occupying this flesh; however, we are to live as supernatural creatures that no longer are ruled by this flesh, nor do we need to heed the desires of this flesh. We must learn to listen with 'Ears of the Mind' so that what we hear is able to be viewed by the 'Eyes of the Heart'; and to learn this practice, we must understand how the Holy Spirit works in us: to reveal Truth to us as it applies to us, while it is being presented to us. Then we must ask God to reveal to us everything that is hindering us from being able to approach Him fully; that nothing would be left to cause us to be accused before Him, or even to ourselves; and as He reveals these things, we surrender to His Will; thus choosing His Perfect Will for our lives. There may have been many more things which were revealed through this portion of the Word over the last 57 days; but these six Truths are critical to know moving forward. All the other things which have been revealed to us, either individually or as speaking to all, will be made clear again as we move forward in His Word. Besides, as we shall see, His Word does not return void; so anything which you have received through this study so far, though you may not remember fully what, why or how it applied to you, or why such a powerful impact on was received in your heart; it will not be for nothing. His Word is meant to be established within our heart; which means that His Word will actually be planted within our heart, and although it may be hidden for a season; it will be revealed...There it is again, that crack in the canyon wall!!! That means that it is time to be purified!!! "Let Israel (Us) hope in the the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. And He shall redeem Israel (Us) from all his (Our) iniquities." (Psalms 130:7 & 8)

ISAIAH 55:6 - "No Time Like The Present"

"Come now, and let us Reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the Sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." (Isaiah 1:18-20) Let me tell you something else about this crack in the canyon wall: It is not visible all the time! Okay, so you might be wondering what the heck that means??? Well, when God speaks Truth into your life, and in that moment you are brought to a point where you know what it is that you must do, it is for that moment that you are to be surrendered. Say What? Think of it like this: God is Spirit, and when His Spirit moves, He moves much like the wind; you can not tell from where it came, or to where it went, but you do know when He is Present: Because His Spirit works in this fashion, when He speaks a Truth into your heart, the chances are you will not get the same Truth for the same moment again; because that moment has fled, and now you are in the next moment. Did you get any of that? In other words: What God speaks into your life is His Living Word, and because His Word is Living, it ministers to us differently all the time; now couple that with His Spirit, that is moving in and around us like the wind, and you have a Whirlwind of Knowledge. I really don't know if I can explain it any better, but it is more or less something that you must see and understand for yourself. The bottom line is that only His Word is constant, while everything else is constantly moving; so at that moment when His Word makes Truth known into our heart, it is in that moment that we must respond; because our heart will change, and the Truth will be hid again within that vast canyon wall. It really comes down to living a life of obedience, and knowing that God will constantly be making His Truth known to us; when He does, and as He does, we must be willing to receive it, and allow Him to sanctify us through His Word. Otherwise, we are in for some heap big trouble! Look at the situation with King Saul's sin and word that Samuel had to say about rebellion and refusing to obey: "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." (1 Samuel 15:23) When we know what God is telling us to do, and then we do it not; in a round about way, we are practicing our own type of belief; in other words, we are trying to persuade ourselves that we know better than God what is best for our life; which is of coarse foolishness, but so was what Saul did in Gilgal. You have to really, really try and understand what I am saying here: Because you have chosen to be a servant of the Lord, you must walk a surrendered life; because more than your life will be depending on your performance; therefore, what you allow yourself to do and the choices you make, are not only for your benefit, but also for the ones which are watching your life. It is far more important that we that want to serve the Lord, do so with a heart of obedience and that is willing to surrender, then that we serve Him at all; because if we are not surrendered and obedient in serving Him, then we are actually serving our self, and the fruit of that will be more of the same. This is what is so wrong in our church today! So many self serving and not yielded to the Truth... "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth." (John 4:23 & 24)